


A Little Too Far

by I_Write_Sans_Not_Tragedies



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Harm, Underfell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 22:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7380271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Write_Sans_Not_Tragedies/pseuds/I_Write_Sans_Not_Tragedies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus gets angry and takes it out on his brother. Sans doesn't react well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Too Far

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a post about uf!Pap yelling at Sans and Sans just starts crying? I can't find it again tho, but the opportunity was too emotional to pass up on... so yeah
> 
> (i should probably get back to writing... like, the shit i'm ACTUALLY supposed to be writing?? lmfao)
> 
> **EDIT** here's the comic!! http://seto-gin.tumblr.com/post/145910422577/i-had-this-idea-in-the-middle-of-the-night-and-had

****

Papyrus was annoyed. He’d overslept, he’d gotten shit from the dogs for it, and his pants had a hole in the thigh. He grumbled around in the kitchen while he worked on dinner. Where the fuck was his brother? He’d  _ better _ be home for dinner or Papyrus was going to have a few choice words with him.

 

Sans came home an hour after Papyrus had eaten and put the leftovers away. He sat at the table, wallowing in his anger while he idly put together a puzzle, when he heard the door shut.

He turned and saw Sans kicking off his sneakers. His brother looked tired and his jacket was scuffed, but he was late and he’d let all of Papyrus’s hard work go to waste. He was probably off drinking or something. Probably didn’t even think about his little brother.

“Sans!” Papyrus shouted, and it made the smaller skeleton jump. Sans turned around and blinked.

“Hey, Pap. Sorry I’m late, I-”

“I don’t care why you were late! I made dinner for us and you didn’t get home in time to eat it! Do you have any idea how long it took to make it?”

Sans blinked. “Sorry, Pap… is it in the fridge? I’ll heat it up and-”

Papyrus stood up. God, he was pissed off with everything. He had to get new pants and he was going to get picked on by the dogs for being late and Sans had ditched him for Grillby’s  _ again. _ He marched over and shoved a gloved finger in his brother’s face.

“You’re absolutely awful! I tried to be nice and make dinner and you went out and did  _ who even knows what _ and didn’t get back in time to eat it- you’re pathetic!” he threw his arms in the air, hardly even watching Sans’s face for a reaction. “You’re disgusting and you’re a horrible brother and I don’t even know how you can live with yourself! I spent hours making food just for you and you had the  _ nerve _ to blow me off! Were you off napping in Waterfall again? God fucking damnit, Sans, is there a  _ reason _ you have to be such an insufferable ass all the time? I  _ hate _ you! Why can’t you just-”

Papyrus heard a noise and he stopped. He looked at Sans, ready to scold him for interrupting his tirade, but Sans had his face turned away. 

He was crying.

Papyrus stood in stunned silence. Thick red tears ran down his brother’s cheeks and fell onto his jacket, even when he raised his sleeve and tried to wipe them away. He wasn’t just crying, he was  _ sobbing _ , and he just looked so tired and worn. Papyrus had  _ never _ seen Sans cry before.

“I-I’m… I’m sorry, Pap…” he said, but it came out as a whine and Papyrus’s soul was crushed like a vice.

“Why are you crying?”

Sans flinched. “I’m sorry-”

“No, don’t say that, why are you crying?” he asked again, just as serious. He stood over his brother and looked down at him while Sans sobbed.

He glanced up at the tall skeleton and sniffled. He let out a sad, awful little laugh. “Do… d-do you really hate me, Pap?”

Oh. Papyrus had to pause for a moment. Sans looked away but the tears kept coming.

Oh. Oh.

“Sans.”

“I-I’ll go to my room… I-I’m not that hu-ngry-”

“Sans, look at me.”

Sans flinched. He didn’t look up.

Papyrus reached out his hand to touch his brother, but Sans sucked in a shuddering breath and before the tall skeleton could make contact, he’d teleported away.

Papyrus stopped. Papyrus waited for him to pop back into existence, but he didn’t. Papyrus then felt an awful, awful feeling in his ribcage and he ran up the stairs.

“Sans?” he called, but when he burst into his brother’s room it was empty. His room was just the same. So was the kitchen, and behind the couch, and in all the cupboards.

“Sans!” he shouted, but there was no answer. “Sans, you- you idiot! Come back here!”

He was out the door in seconds.

 

Papyrus searched all of Snowdin. He went to the shop, and the Inn, and nearly all of the other houses. He got glared and yelled at, but he was the strongest monster in town. Nobody messed with him. His legs were sore after the first three hours of running, desperately trying to locate his brother, but he didn’t stop or slow.

Sans wasn’t at his post near the Ruins. He wasn’t at the Ruins, either, and he wasn’t anywhere between them and the town. Papyrus knew because he searched and then double checked every nook and cranny.

“Sans! Sans?”

The only response he got was from other monsters telling him to be quiet. Had they seen Sans? He asked, and they all told him no. 

Sans wasn’t strong enough to be out on his own for this long, not when Papyrus had no idea where he was and when he was so distraught. What if somebody had dusted him already? What if he was dead? Papyrus went faster through the town, but Sans was gone.

“Where’s my brother?” he demanded as he reached the Inn again. The rabbit inside rolled her eyes.

“You’ve been in here twice. I already told you, I have no idea where your brother is.”

“Whoever finds him and brings him back to me- unharmed- will get 800 gold.”

The Innkeeper’s ears went skyward. “800?” 

“Yes.”

He left her standing in shock. He was saving up to pay Alphys for better armor, but that wasn’t important. 

Sans thought he  _ hated _ him. Papyrus was not used to feeling so awful, but his soul was stinging with worry and shame. Sans hadn’t deserved to be yelled at- Papyrus had acted like a child, taking his anger out on his brother when the shorter monster clearly wasn’t feeling well himself. 

  
  


He’d been gone for twelve hours when Papyrus pulled out his phone and called Undyne. He knew enlisting her help wouldn’t be cheap, but he was starting to truly panic.

_ “What do you want?”  _ she growled through the receiver.

“Sans is missing. I need your help.”

_ “Pssh. What’s in it for me?” _

“800 gold.”

_ “I don’t need money, bonehead.” _

“I’ll come over the next time you’re in heat and help you,” he said. Oh lord he was going to be sore after that.

There was a short silence on the other end of the line. Papyrus waited impatiently. 

_ “... yeah, yeah, alright. I’ll search Waterfall.”  _ she said before she hung up.

Papyrus was starting to panic. How could he have shouted at his brother like that? He didn’t hate Sans- sure, he was lazy and dirty and he hardly did anything, but Papyrus didn’t hate him. Papyrus could  _ never _ hate his brother. How often did he yell? Sans always took it with a sad smile, and Papyrus realized with heavy, heavy bones that Sans probably did think he hated him. And now he was out there, vulnerable, all alone-

“Sans!”

 

Another four hours passed. Papyrus checked the house, the basement, the forest, everywhere. All the monsters in town were looking, too, because 800 gold was not a small amount of money.

He’d just gotten done inspecting every damn tree in the whole damn forest when his phone rang.

He pulled it out and answered with shaking hands.

_ “Found ‘em. He’s out here in Waterfall, near the hub. He doesn’t know I saw him yet, so get your bony ass over here. Asshole’s probably frozen half to death.” _

“Thank you, Undyne, thank you so much-”

_ “Don’t get all sappy on me, you fuckin’ weirdo,”  _ she hissed, but she didn’t sound all that bothered.

Papyrus ran. No, he sprinted, as fast as his legs could carry him despite their screaming protest. He knew next to nothing about Waterfal, but he knew where the hub was. He had to go through it to get to Undyne’s house. 

She was standing near the weird little bird that flew him across the disproportionately small gap. He reached her, still running, and she laughed.

“Damn, why’re you so worked up? It’s not like anybody would hurt your bro. Unless they wanted a bone through their head.” Her fangs flashed.

“Where is he?” Papyrus asked.

“Geez, Pap, haven’t seen you this upset since-”

“Where. Is he?” Papyrus asked again. Undyne blinked her one good eye before she cackled, armor clinking.

“Go down there and take a right. He’s hiding in that clump of grass, the little freak.”

Papyrus forgot to say thank you, or even goodbye. He went slower, because he didn’t want to scare his brother. The water was bright blue, illuminated by the glowing crystals beneath and casting everything in an unsettling yet beautiful light. Echo flowers dotted the marshy area, but the little corner that Sans hid in was dark.

“Sans?”

He heard a stifled gasp and he knew it was his brother. Papyrus burst into another jog as he saw a very familiar round white skull poking up from the tall grass.

“Papyr-”

Sans was cut off as Papyrus wrapped his arms around his brother and lifted him off of the ground. 

“You idiot! Don’t you  _ ever _ scare me like that again! I thought you were dead!”

Sans was cold- his whole body was shaking from it, and he was wet, and Papyrus hugged him tighter and sat down on the damp earth.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

He pulled Sans away, but the look on his brother’s face was… quite strange. He looked confused, but he also looked scared.

“I’m… I’m fine, bro,” he said quietly, but he wouldn’t meet his brother’s eyes.

“No you are not fine- you’re freezing!” Papyrus exclaimed, holding Sans close, hoping to pass on some of his body heat. They were skeletons, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t feel the cold when they were soaked and shivering.

“Heh…” Sans breathed, but he pushed himself away and Papyrus set him down. “Pap… I’m sorry-”

“No!” Papyrus said immediately, grabbing Sans’s wrist. He was about to continue when Sans winced and drew away to hold his arm.

Papyrus stopped. The sleeve of Sans’s jacket was… dark, in some places. He looked at his brother for a moment and the averted eyes told him everything he needed to know.

“Who hurt you? Who did that?” he asked, aimless anger bubbling up in his bones. “Sans-”

“Nobody,” his brother mumbled. His eyes were so, so tired. Had he slept? If he had, it was in the cold, damp marsh.

“You’re  _ hurt _ , Sans.”

“It’s fine.”

“It is not fine! Who hurt you?”

Sans seemed to curl in on himself. His jacket clung to his frame and his shorts looked equally as soaked. He glanced at his brother with those deep, sad eyes, and then he looked away.

“I’m sorry for bein’ such an awful brother,” he said eventually. Wetly.

“No- no, don’t apologize,” Papyrus said, “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I don’t hate you, brother- I really, really don’t, and I’m sorry I made you feel that way.”

Sans was shaking, more tears threatening to overwhelm him. He looked so tired already- the marks trailed down his cheeks from where he’d been crying before.

“I was upset, and I took it out on you. Though it happens so rarely, I made a mistake…” Papyrus looked down for a moment. “I’m sorry, Sans.”

Sans was crying again. Papyrus motioned for him to come closer, and he did. It hurt to see him like this- his strong, courageous big brother, so sad and defeated.

Papyrus tenderly held his wrist. “May I look, brother?”

Sans nodded through his tears.

Papyrus carefully pulled up the sleeve to reveal five even, deep lines carved into his radius. The red substance was sticky and half-dried. Papyrus saw them, and the old wounds decorating his brother’s arm, and he let out a deep breath.

“Sans-”

“I know. I’m sorry, bro,” he said.

“It’s okay. We’ll work on it. I’m sorry for driving you to this,” Papyrus said sadly.

Sans wouldn’t meet his eyes. Papyrus held his wrist in one hand and brought up the other to be laid gently on top of it.

Sans winced as the magic began to flow, but he relaxed once the warm, pleasant energy started to heal his wounds. They were still fresh, and with proper care they wouldn’t scar. 

“It ain’t your fault, Pap,” Sans murmured. 

Papyrus hummed, concentrating on his magic. “Does it hurt?”

“... not anymore,” he said quietly.

“Even if I’m angry, please talk to me before you do this,” Papyrus went on. “I don’t like to see you hurt, brother. You don’t have enough HP to do this kind of thing.”

“I know… ‘m sorry, Pap.”

“Sans?”

“Y...Yeah?”

“You’re still crying, Sans.”

Papyrus let go of his wrist and Sans pulled his sleeve back down to hide the marks. He hugged himself.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “Guess I’m just… not feeling so great lately.”

Papyrus sighed before he moved forward and drew his brother into another embrace. Sans returned it in full and sobbed into Papyrus’s shoulder.

“Shh. It’s alright, Sans.”

“I’m sorry for being so weak,” he murmured.

“Shh, none of that, brother. You’re fine. The Great Papyrus will protect you.”

Sans laughed, although it was still mostly a sob. “Y-You’re such a fuckin’ nerd,”

Papyrus laughed a little, running a hand over Sans’s skull. “That might be so, but I got it from you.”

“Heh… nah. I’m cool.”

“Whatever you have to tell yourself,” Papyrus said, content. He put a knee under himself and got to his feet, taking Sans with him. “Come on. Let’s go home and get you something dry to wear.” Papyrus looked down at him and frowned. “How’d you even get so wet in the first place?”

Sans was too tired to protest being carried, but he still gave his brother a shitty grin.

“You know that bit you always say… bout me needing to shower more? Woshua thought so, too.”

Papyrus smiled. “I’m serious though. If you ever run off like this again I’ll dust you myself.”

“Got it. Won’t happen again, boss.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why, boss?”

“I’m not your boss!”

“Might as well be.”

“... I’m going to pretend you’re sleeping now, Sans.”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @theperfecta for some soft memes and broken dreams


End file.
